Joshua 6:1-5: a reflection

1Now Jericho was tightly shut up because of the children of Israel. No one went out, and no one came in. 2The LORD said to Joshua, “Behold, I have given Jericho into your hand, with its king and the mighty men of valor. 3All of your men of war shall march around the city, going around the city once. You shall do this six days. 4Seven priests shall bear seven trumpets of rams’ horns before the ark. On the seventh day, you shall march around the city seven times, and the priests shall blow the trumpets. 5It shall be that when they make a long blast with the ram’s horn, and when you hear the sound of the trumpet, all the people shall shout with a great shout; then the city wall will fall down flat, and the people shall go up, every man straight in front of him.”

When God gives Joshua the plan for taking Jericho, it is unlike any ordinary battle plan. The army is to march around the city once a day for six days, and on the seventh day march around seven times, with the priests blowing trumpets; and then, at a great shout, the walls will fall down flat. To human eyes this made no sense: marching and shouting do not bring down city walls. Yet this was God's way; and Israel was to trust and obey it, however strange it seemed, and the victory came exactly as God had said.

Notice that God's way of taking the city was strange to human eyes, yet it was the way to victory. Marching around and shouting is not how walls are brought down; the plan made no military sense. But it was God's way, and Israel was to trust and obey it rather than rely on their own ideas of how the city should be taken. And when they obeyed God's strange-seeming plan, the walls fell. The victory came not by a method that made sense to them, but by trusting and obeying God's way, however strange it seemed.

That is worth taking to heart, for God's ways can seem strange to us, and we can be tempted to trust our own understanding over his direction. God's way of doing things does not always make sense to us; it can seem strange, even foolish, to human reckoning. And we can be tempted to set it aside for our own more sensible-seeming methods. But Israel's victory came by trusting and obeying God's strange-seeming plan, not their own. When God's way seems strange to you, do not set it aside for your own understanding; trust and obey it, as Israel marched around Jericho at God's command, however little sense it made. God's ways are not always our ways, and can seem strange; but the way of trusting obedience to God, even when his way seems strange, is the way that prevails, as the walls of Jericho fell when Israel obeyed God's unlikely plan rather than relying on their own.

Lord, when you give Joshua the plan for taking Jericho, it is unlike any ordinary battle plan. The army is to march around the city once a day for six days, and on the seventh day march around seven times, with the priests blowing trumpets; and then, at a great shout, the walls will fall down flat. To human eyes this made no sense. Yet this was your way; and Israel was to trust and obey it, however strange it seemed, and the victory came exactly as you had said. Show me that your way of taking the city was strange to human eyes, yet it was the way to victory. The plan made no military sense. But it was your way, and Israel was to trust and obey it rather than rely on their own ideas. And when they obeyed your strange-seeming plan, the walls fell. The victory came not by a method that made sense to them, but by trusting and obeying your way. Take that to my heart, for your ways can seem strange to me, and I can be tempted to trust my own understanding over your direction. Your way of doing things does not always make sense to me; it can seem strange, even foolish. And I can be tempted to set it aside for my own more sensible-seeming methods. But Israel's victory came by trusting and obeying your strange-seeming plan. When your way seems strange to me, keep me from setting it aside for my own understanding; help me trust and obey it, Lord, as Israel marched around Jericho at your command. Help me trust your ways even when they seem strange.